A Little Christmas Magic—Uncle Jack’s little niece and nephew know him as the magician who comes to visit at Christmas. This time, he’s setting up his greatest trick of all. And perhaps his first failure

Merry Christmas, Officer Clancy—As he nears retirement, Officer Clancy still walks a beat on main street where he’s accustomed to make up a few of his own rules. But under a new chief, that’s about to change.

The Rest Stop—Derwin desperately hangs on to his belief in Santa Claus despite a bullying cousin. But a kid’s got to learn sometime, right? But the truth may not be what his cousin thinks.

The Trouble With the Package—It was bad enough the package was bigger than Benny, but hiding it—and keeping it hidden—was likely to be more trouble than Christmas was worth.

A Christmas Child—It’s a mad, mad race against time and misadventures as a motley group of strangers drops everything to make sure the new child arrives in the hospital and not in a snowbank somewhere.

The Great Christmas Revolt—Mary Ellen, harassed by holiday overload, plans what she hopes will be a very simple Christmas. Her husband, who strung 362, 840 lights on their house last year, reluctantly goes along. Their Kids? Well . . .

The Missing Santa Claus—When a cynical, hard-boiled private eye searches for a young woman’s missing father, a beloved Department store Santa, he discovers what happened has everything to do with Christmas.

A Christmas Tradition—Ignoring her father’s warning that her punishment may be self-inflicted, Rachel nurtures an escalating feud with her brother. Right up to Christmas morning

When a cynical, hard-boiled private eye searches for a young woman’s missing father, a beloved Department store Santa, he discovers what happened has everything to do with Christmas. A light-hearted look back in time when hard-boiled detectives ran rampant in the streets, and Christmas still conjured visions made with magic.

A lot of things are going wrong in Lt. Blake’s war, especially as Christmas approaches. His hopes of glory in combat are dashed by a new job and a swift promotion. When he sets up his new headquarters in an empty building, dimly remembered as the best gathering place in the city, he is haunted by the big blowup on his last evening with Lillian, his fiancé. And by a woman he glimpses in the streets of the city, who eerily reminds him of her. It doesn’t help that he thinks he can sit on the sidelines as the French turn on their own heroes and charge them as traitors because they tried to help the American landings come off without bloodshed. On Christmas eve, Blake has a decision to make. Some of those heroes just need a little help to escape to Lisbon.

Send one oftheseChristmas storiesto your friends and family this year:

Everyone knows the Grinch merely stole presents. But in THE MORIARTY CARD, Sherlock Holmes confronts a much deeper problem: a twisted mind that has contrived to steal and put into question the moral underpinnings of society. Not to mention the very reason for the observance of Christmas.

Imagine a quiet morning in the cluttered sitting room over Baker Street. Several years have passed since the great detective returned from his disappearance after his deadly struggle with Moriarty at Reichenbach Falls. The post arrives and brings a shocking surprise, a Christmas card Holmes is certain was sent by his old nemesis himself!

Impossible! Illogical! And improbable!

Yet Holmes immediately senses the evil touch of the hand that sent it. Challenged by the possibility of another brush with the master criminal, he must also survive a rare and, for him, uncomfortable brush with things sentimental. A novella.